Virginia Tech upsets No. 14 Miami 42-24

Walter Villa, The Sports Xchange

The SportsXchange•November 10, 2013

MIAMI - Leave it to the Virginia Tech Hokies to knock off Miami and throw the ACC's Coastal Division into uncertainty with four teams bunched at the top of the standings. Saturday night's 42-24 upset win over 14th-ranked Miami at Sun Life Stadium marked the fourth time in five years that the Hokies have beaten the Hurricanes. Logan Thomas, the Hokies' senior quarterback, has engineered three of those wins. "I think those (Hurricane) colors bring out the best in a player - their tradition, their legacy," said Thomas, who completed 25 of 31 passes for 366 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. "That's all you hear about from the Big East days," Thomas added. "They are one of our biggest rivals. They have athletes in every part of the field, and that brings up our intensity level." Thomas helped the Hokies (7-3, 4-2) snap a two-game losing streak and get back in the Coastal Division race along with Miami (7-2, 4-2) Duke (7-2, 3-2) and Georgia Tech (6-3, 5-2). But Thomas was far from the only Hokies' hero. Redshirt freshman Trey Edmunds became the first Hokies' running back since Ryan Williams in 2009 to score four touchdowns in a game. Edmunds scored from 10 and two yards in the first quarter, from four yards in the second and a one-yarder in the fourth. "One of these days (Edmunds) is going to be really, really good," Hokies coach Frank Beamer said. "He's got some explosion to him." After trailing 28-14 at intermission, the Hurricanes opened the second-half with a 49-yard field goal from Matt Goudis. Virginia Tech got an odd touchdown when Demitri Knowles recovered a fumble by fellow wide receiver Willie Byrn in the end zone. The entire play went 50 yards. "You stay in this game long enough, some balls are going to bounce your way and some are going to bounce against you," Beamer said. "Tonight, they bounced for us. But I thought it was a great effort by Demitri to get there. If you don't have great effort, it doesn't make any difference if the ball bounces our way or not." Two plays later, Miami pulled to within 35-24 on an 84-yard completion from Stephen Morris to Allen Hurns. Cornerback Brandon Facyson took a bad angle on the play, cutting in front of Hurns and missing the ball. Edmonds' fourth touchdown, a 1-yard run, put the Hokies up 42-24. That capped a 10-play, 77-yard drive that took 4:59 off the clock. Later in the fourth quarter, the Hokies put the game away with an impressive 16-play, 77-yard drive that took up 9:06. The Hokies didn't score on the drive, but they left Miami virtually no time to mount a comeback. "Whatever I say is an excuse," Canes coach Al Golden said when asked about his team's defense. "We just have to fix it." Golden probably was elated and then frustrated by the way his freshmen played in the first quarter. Freshman Stacy Coley took a wide receiver screen and, using kick-out blocks by right tackle Seantrel Henderson and Hurns, raced 81 yards for the game's first touchdown. Coley appeared to be on his way to another big play when he fielded a punt, slipped, faked out a defender and ran straight up field for 21 yards. But he was stripped of the ball by punter A.J. Hughes and linebacker Tariq Edwards recovered the ball for Virginia Tech at the Hokies' 46-yard-line. The Hokies capitalized on the turnover and the short field, tying the score 7-7 on Edmunds' 10-yard run. A few seconds later, another Miami freshman flashed his skill before leaving the ball behind. This time, it was a 43-yard kickoff return by Artie Burns, who was stripped of the ball by linebacker Derek DiNardo. The ball was recovered at the Hokies' 49 by DiNardo, setting up a two-yard touchdown run by Edmunds. In the second quarter, it was a Miami senior who made a major mistake. Punter Pat O'Donnell went down on one knee to field a slightly low snap, giving Virginia Tech the ball at the Miami 17. This time, Edmonds scored from 4 yards to give the Hokies a 21-7 lead. "You can't just spot them 21 points like that," Golden said. "We executed the punt return and the kickoff return just like we wanted, but then we fumble the ball. That's inexcusable." NOTES: WR D.J. Coles made a big play for the Hokies in the second quarter, recovering a fumble by Stanford at the Miami 2. That led to a Virginia Tech touchdown. ... Miami freshman RB Corn Elder ran a kickoff back 39 yards in the second quarter. It was the first kickoff return of his career. ... The Hurricanes unveiled new alternative uniforms featuring gray jerseys called "The Smoke." ... Next up for the Hurricanes is a road game at Duke next Saturday. ... Next for the Hokies is a game against Maryland next Saturday before wrapping up the regular season at rival Virginia.